It Just Had To Be Him
by Pensulliwen
Summary: There is clearly something going on between Allen Walker and Lenalee Lee. No one says it, but everyone speculates, and it has gotten to a point where the whole thing is impossible to ignore. The other men in her life react. Kanda, Lavi, Komui.
1. Kanda

**It Just Had To Be Him**

**Chapter One: Kanda**

Fucking Beansprout.

Out of all the men in the entire world, she has to choose fucking Beansprout. While he can't think of a single person who really deserves her, he can't think of anyone less qualified than that bastard either. He's the type to get himself killed over something stupid and make her cry. While Kanda couldn't care less about whether the brat lives or dies, that is no longer acceptable. When Lenalee cares about someone, she cares about them far too much, and Kanda has stopped chastising her for it by this point. It's something about her that is obviously never going to change. So he'll just have to make the world accommodate her instead.

Apparently that starts with goddamn Beansprout.

It is with no small amount of glowering that he finds himself spending more time with the puny Exorcist. Because _she_ is, and he sure as hell isn't going to leave them alone with only Two-spot as supervision. Not that he really thinks Beansprout would dare harm her (there's Komui to consider, of course), but it doesn't sit right with him anyway, and who knows when that damn Noah might come out? He tries not to think too much about that possibility, because it just enrages him all the more. She _would_ choose a _fucking Noah_. It's less about danger at that point and more about really, Lenalee? Really?

Regardless, it doesn't hurt to be on standby. Thankfully, they don't have all that much time together anyway (to his knowledge, and according to the various people he has stared down while resting his hand on Mugen in a way that is just threatening enough). It's mostly lunches between missions that he has to look out for. So, when he is free, he sits down next to Lenalee in a way that is not at all possessive (really), merely warning, and Beansprout does the best he can to ignore him. Kanda returns the favor, for the most part. His presence is enough.

Kanda stays silent as he glares at the boy across from him, scowling in disgust as he inhales his food and Lenalee looks at him as if she thinks it's… _cute_. A mild shudder at that. He is revolting. Anyone, literally anyone else would have been better. Okay, maybe not Lavi, but apart from that.

He grimaces and looks at Lenalee to confirm that she did in fact see the way he just ate that hunk of meat. She has an amused smile on her face.

… Yes. _Even Lavi. _Part of his soul dies at the thought, but even that might have been preferable.

And now the little shit is actually _going back for more_. Yes, Kanda has known about the way Beansprout eats for a while, but it's something else to actually experience it. He makes a vow to hunt the bottomless pit down any time Jerry is ever out of an ingredient for his soba in the future.

What can she possibly see in him?

Kanda glances at her, clearly displeased, but does not ask. None of his business anyway. She can choose whoever the hell she wants to. Lenalee must see some of the confusion in his expression, though, because as soon as she meets his eyes she glances away with a small smile.

"I really love him, Kanda. I can't quite say why, but… he makes me happy."

Well then.

"Tch, did I ask?"

He turns back to glare at the table. How the hell is he supposed to argue with that? He probably_ could_, there are some damn good reasons why he should too. But he won't. If that's how she feels then… he can accommodate.

It doesn't stop him from glaring when Beansprout approaches the table with enough food to feed half of the people in the cafeteria.

They are going to have a little talk about exactly where he is going to find Mugen if he ever dares to harm her. Hell, he might just find it there anyway. Kanda is a man of few words.


	2. Lavi

**It Just Had To Be Him**

**Chapter Two: Lavi**

He isn't surprised. He probably saw it coming before they did, really. While he can't pinpoint exactly where it began, the handholding and little looks were hard not to notice, though everyone else seemed to have done their best to ignore it. But ignoring information is not the job of a Bookman. He probably couldn't have even if he tried, but he pretends not to notice for as long as they do. A Bookman is not an instigator, either.

It makes sense in a lot of ways. They are both kind of adorable, of course, and he is sure that their combined forces will leave the entire Order with diabetes just from watching them. The way they talk over lunch, flushing lightly after every little thing the other one says, thinking that no one can see their fingers interlocking under the table. It is very close to physically painful to watch. It's almost annoying, but how can he possibly begrudge them for it when they look so damn happy over nothing? Besides, they do complement each other damn near perfectly. Allen needs someone to slap him out of his self-sacrificing tendencies and remind him that he as a person is important. Lenalee needs someone who she can trust to never leave her, somehow always managing to come back when he should logically be dead or gone many times over. It just makes sense.

It's also unfair in a lot of ways. Allen has barely been here more than a year, yet he's the only person to ever attain the kind of feelings from ther that every other man in the Order (perhaps some of the women too) have been pining over for years. When Lavi joined, he had kind of suspected that if anyone, it would be Kanda. They had some sort of history after all, and Kanda clearly treated her differently than he did everyone else. But those feelings never seemed to branch out into romantic interest (and Kanda would kill him for speculating over it anyway). Then Allen joined. And all of a sudden, after no time at all, she was trusting him as if he'd been there for years. Acting like he had always been with them. And yeah, Lavi had liked the kid, but he was still the naive newbie of the group. Lenalee never treated him that way. They seemed to bond almost instantly.

Lavi has mused over the subject quite a few times; comes with being a Bookman. Always looking, always thinking, always going off on mental tangents. There's just something about Allen that seems to draw people in. He has made some enemies due to his controversial views, and more thanks to having a damn Noah inside of him (but that's a whole other issue entirely, and Lavi tries to keep them separate), but when it comes down to it, the kid is just a likeable guy. It's probably not all that surprising that Lenalee fell for him, and it sure as hell isn't a surprise that he fell for her (join the club, buddy, we have care packages).

It is a relief, in some ways, because now it seems safe to admit that he was feeling some things for her that he shouldn't have been feeling. It is also painful for that reason, but he can recognize that it's for the better. He could never be what Allen is to her, and it's not his place to try. Not his place to care either way, really, but he never claimed to be _perfect_ at his job. She deserves someone who isn't afraid of attachment, and can always really be there for her. Lavi is convinced that Allen can do that, other issues be damned. As far as anyone really deserving her goes… well, Allen's probably the closest that anyone can ever get.

But really, these kids. They almost act like ten-year-olds who have discovered that they "like like" each other. Lavi watches Allen falter for a moment before leaning over slightly to whisper something in her ear. Lenalee beams, pulling back to giggle a bit before momentarily resting her head against his and whispering something back (Lavi could tell, if he wanted to, but something tells him that the knowledge would make him want to bang his head against the table for one reason or another).

Okay, they_ do _act like ten-year-olds. But they quite clearly are not.

They're both uncharacteristically chipper one morning, avoiding eye contact with one another but staring when the other isn't looking, and Lavi assumes that they've had sex. That's natural, for a couple their age, and while he isn't entirely sure how he feels about it he grins and claps Allen on the back in a congratulatory manner anyway. Then he throws his arm over Allen's shoulder and takes him aside, because Lavi is not entirely convinced that Allen has had The Talk and if the poor bastard gets Lenalee pregnant he will be dead so fast and in so many ways that he won't even have time to contemplate offing himself first. While Lavi does not particularly relish the idea of explaining birth control to him (god damn this is going to be awkward, Lavi can be academic but he is fairly sure that Allen can't), someone has to.

"You look awfully happy this morning. Somethin' happen?" Yep, the kid's blushing already. This is going to be unpleasant for all involved.

"Ah, kind of." Allen rubs the back of his head embarrassedly, glancing back down the hallway as if searching for an escape route. Nope, not getting away that easy. Lavi tightens his hold, accidentally knocking their heads together, which prompts a complaint from Allen and really, who do you think he's doing this for? A little gratitude, maybe?

He'll just cut to the chase then.

"Look, we need to have a little chat about the birds an' the bees an' all. I'm sure you two have figured out most of it, but I just wanna clear up a couple points for ya." Allen's expression is completely and totally uncomprehending. How is it possible that this guy got laid? He grew up with Cross, didn't he? Surely he at least knows the basics.

"Birds and the…?" At once Allen's face goes from confusion to abject horror, and Lavi realizes that he must have misinterpreted something. "Lavi!" Allen shoves away from him, flushing like mad and looking more than a little offended. "We didn't, I would never— we just kissed! That's it!"

…Really. These _kids_.

"You kissed," he replies blankly. He stares at Allen for a moment. "Ya _just now_ kissed? As in, for the first time?"

Allen fidgets, clearly uncomfortable. Lavi thinks that the poor guy would have probably just ignored him entirely if he weren't afraid of giving an entirely false impression about the whole thing. "Well, we… kind of had, but… not on the lips."

This boy is hopeless. He's actually avoiding eye contact and smiling self-consciously about that.

Lavi feels the need to remind Allen that he is in fact sixteen, but god damn it the guy looks so pleased about the whole thing that Lavi doesn't have it in him.

"If I haven't died of old age by the time you two get past that, remind me to tell ya some things."


	3. Komui

**It Just Had To Be Him**

**Chapter Three: Komui**

It isn't that he never expected her to grow up, or even that he hadn't expected her to grow up so fast; he always knew that she would. It's frustrating— he often can't place quite what it is at all. But then she walks into the room and he knows it all the same, even if the words won't come.

Maybe a small part of it _is_ that she has grown up so fast.

From a child, into a warrior, into a beautiful young woman that makes him wonder if there is anything in the world worth trusting her to. And once he logically comes to the conclusion that there isn't, he can't help but notice how many people she has already trusted herself to. Maybe it isn't his job to decide that, anymore.

But he flails at the idea, regardless. Flails at those she trusts so much, to be more precise, and prays that she will at least allow him that much concern.

But it has gotten beyond that. With Allen… it is far different, than the others. Maybe it always has been. It occasionally makes him less sorry about the near-house arrest. He makes sure to send up a meal from Jerry to make up for the uncharitable thought, though part of him thinks that Allen wouldn't dispute it.

It has gotten to the point where if she doesn't come in with coffee during lunch, he knows that she must have run into him. And Komui is not really sure that he's okay with that. But then she'll come running in twenty minutes or half an hour later, apologizing and saying that she was distracted, and she'll look so happy that he knows, for the moment at least, that he has to be okay with it. Anything that can still make her smile that way has to be okay.

Komui remembers when it used to be her clinging to him. Others laugh disbelievingly when one of them mentions it, but he remembers all too clearly what it was like to pick up her tiny body and hold her in his arms. She was frail, always shaking, so he let her knot tiny fists in his hair and held her closer, pressing his ear to her chest and listening to her heart beat until she fell asleep. He sometimes caught himself thinking of her as a daughter more than a sister. Quite the fantastic thought, now that she is all but a woman; not small, not frail, and stronger than he'll ever be. A fighter. He can see why people would doubt the idea that it could be any other way.

But the quiet way she smiles whenever it's brought up makes him think, perhaps wishfully, that she remembers too.

He accepts that she is grown. He even accepts that, for all his over the top threats, he would have to stop if she asked him to. Or at least be more discrete about it. He is still her brother, after all— some duties transcend age. But the prospect of an actual relationship with Allen raises as many flags to Komui the brother as it does to Komui the Supervisor. There is a very good reason for the unofficial fraternization policy among Exorcists, and that is only compounded by the existence of the 14th. Most things come back to that, really. Enough so that sometimes, he isn't sure if the Noah is truly the only unsolvable problem, or if he has simply latched onto it as such. Perhaps there would be some other unsolvable problem for him to find, if the Musician was out of the picture.

Komui wants to protect Allen, desperately, as he wants to protect all of those beneath him— but it has always been different, with Allen. There is only so long that he can have the same argument with Central and expect for action to remain delayed. Things are moving, far beyond his control for all the supposed weight that his position has. And sometimes it comes down to protecting Allen, or protecting everyone else. That is not something that he can do. He made a promise, upon taking this position, to protect all of them. It started for Lenalee, but branched out so far beyond that. She is still there at the center, and always will be. But there are other things to protect as well.

And if he hurts Lenalee… if there is even the likelihood of him hurting Lenalee, then how can Komui fight for that?

He thinks that Allen understands that; he would have acted sooner, otherwise. Or at least, he used to understand. Because simply from overheard whispers that make him cringe, it is apparent that things are changing. Or maybe things have been changing, slowly, and it is only now painfully obvious to the casual observer. Komui is not at all sure that it's alright to let whatever it is continue either way.

As if there weren't enough things in the world to hurt her already. Sometimes it seems as if the earth was tailor-made to cause her pain.

And he can hardly ever prevent it, these days.

From the bodies to the lack of bodies, curfews to visiting hours. He can't pick her up anymore. Hugs only seem to go so far, and more often than not… it is no longer his arms that she runs to. When another name is rattled off over coffins to be burned, hitting closer to home every time, and he leads her away with a firm arm around her shoulder— she lets him, but he knows that it isn't him she wants to be with. Isn't him that she wants to comfort her. For whatever reason, she wants mismatched arms to hold her.

He wonders how any just god could bear to cause her so much pain, and if it is inevitable that she will become inconsolable. Perhaps that is simply the fate of an Exorcist. It is not something that he ever wanted for her, but it is so much a part of her now that he wonders if the two can be separated.

Komui grins cheerfully as she hands him his cup of coffee, showering her with dramatic praise that only makes her laugh for a moment before turning away. He drops his gaze, and his smile with it. But, even a moment of laughter is something. The coffee remains untended to as he picks his pen back up, and it is with some dull surprise that he realizes he is actually filling out the paperwork before him. Huh. Well, there's a first time for everything.

"Brother."

Komui glances up sharply, surprised to see that Lenalee never left the room. She is standing with her back to him (that hurts a little, but he supposes it's a sight he'll have to get used to), hands gripped around the coffee tray as if she is on her way out the door. But she isn't moving. Komui waits, as patiently as he can. When she finally continues, her voice is so low that he would not have heard it against anything by the dead silence of his office.

"Are you disappointed in me?"

The tray is just barely shaking in her hands, and the wave of nostalgia that hits him almost feels like a physical blow. He smiles softly, putting the pen down in favor of his favorite coffee mug. That's not right, Lenalee— you're not supposed to shake anymore. He takes a long sip before answering.

"Of course not."

* * *

_AN: This is all that I really had planned for this story. If there's someone else that you really want to see, feel free to drop a request in a review. If not, thanks for reading._


End file.
